This is very good advice, Bob. One more for me to keep. Thanks for the very good read!

Bob,

Your suggetions on how to deal with the back-stabber is great.

Thanks.

Chan

The ignoring tactic is dangerous. Monitored confrontation is best. Here's how it's done:
Compile complaints and backstories Mr. B is passing along as fact.
Call a meeting between you, Mr. B and both of your supervisors.
In the friendliest of terms, tell Mr. B in front of supervisors that you heard x,y, and z from various sources and, because working together with Mr. B is important to you, you want to resolve these issues with Mr. B before they get out of hand.
NOTHING stops a backstabber quicker than a witnessed confrontation with someone who appears to be proactively addressing the problems.

I am sorry to say, but I have recently been in a similar situation. Fortunately I was able to negotiate an out that was surficially beneficial to both sides. My advice is that people will always listen to gossip, but it will smear your character if your relationship is less solid than the gossiper's.

Bob's suggestion to shore up your network is extremely valid. It may seem like touchy feely nonsense, but if you are going to be in the job more than 3 months, you are likely to need the good graces of an extended network. Without it, the niceties of professional conduct often slip and your messages for help might fall lower and lower in the to do list.

You mention that you are a top performer, are you so in spite of your peers? Does your high performance reflect poorly on others? This is not to suggest that you do less. Rather, do what you do with more awareness of its effect on those around you. It could very well be that in your bustle to perform well, that you have bumped a few people who used to be the top performers from thier resting place.

Alternatively your top performance may have caused jams and shortages up and down the process line because you are not working fully in sync with the rest of the team.

Finally, in your analysis of yourself as a top performer, are you currently performing at that level, or are you resting on your laurels some as such. If you find yourself resting, realize that your top performer tag is a big target and sitting targets are easier to hit...

Good Luck!

I suggest that you get a book called "The Art of War" (it's mostly about dealing with people). If your career is important to you then I suggest that you learn how to protect yourself. Anyone who threatens your reputation at work should be considered a serious problem, and they don't change. Depending on where you work, some corporate environments allow passive aggressive people to do real harm to others careers. It may be just a corporate game, but remember, you don't get to make up the rules but you better play by them or leave.

I have found that times of adversity are times of oportunity.
This is your chance to rise head and shoulders above the competition.
Is backstabbing really the way to run anything ? NO !!!
Use this situation to lead your co-workers to a better way.

OTOH, I ignored it until I was fired.

I've been through this. Unfortunately putting your nose to the grindstone and relying on the quality of your work to prove yourself isn't enough. As Bob said, I didn't fight (I'd have lost against the pro backstabber I had to deal with). I logged FACTS about issues or happenings this person caused that affected my ability to do my job (or the team to do its job), and then when I had enough documentation, I was able to approach my boss in a constructive way. When the action steps he outlined did not work, it also was very clear to my boss it was time to involve HR. Bottom line: you must find a way to tie the person's action to reduced productivity ( by you or the team). Usually these types of people act this way to cause distraction from what they're doing. If you stick to the facts, and can get some management and HR support in doing so, it should shed some light on what the person is doing. Once her creative distractions were removed and the spotlight began to show on my nemesis, it became pretty clear that her performance was sorely lacking.

Dear Shiv'd:

Take it from someone who now services guys like Mr. B as a freelance consultant: consult an attorney -- know your rights.

I have seen the Mr. B's out there hire private detectives, pay for personal info off of the Web and do everything INCLUDING "dumpster diving" to succeed in killing off their adversaries. They will use anything that can be misconstrued as unsavory or inappropriate that might embarrass your management.

No one has time to check if any of it is true.

Be nice, if you wish, but please understand, we're only talking about your professional, corporate career, here.

Heavily Shielded

Awesome advice! I too was the subject of a "back stabbing" in the construction world.
I went about my business, ignored the neagtivities, and became the manager of the subject- revenge was sweet...

The advice is great, but I'd like to add one thing. Keep documentation, emails etc... that support your position and if it doesn't violate any company policy keep a copy of those records "safely" off-site. Talk to anyone who's been in the gov't sector in one of those "paranoid" offices where everyone is trying to backstab everyone else and they'll over-emphasize this point.
Good luck
J.

To the extent of managing stress, the advice is good. However, anyone who is in the position of being sabotaged in the workplace would be wise to document events. In the event that your performance is questioned, or you are in a situation of workplace harassment, you will have evidence of the facts. The file should be kept at home.

I agree entirely about building your personal network within the company, but having been on the receiving end of a similar situation, I have a few more suggestions.

Develop a professional network outside of your work place. If there is a professional association that fits the work you do and they have a chapter near where you live or work, join them and try to attend most of their meetings.

Make up a personal business card so you can exchange your card with others at those professional association meetings. You might want it for exchanging at any trade shows you might attend. Exchanging cards is a quick way to gather professional contact information.

Start composing your resume, if you don't already have one that is current, because the longer this fellow has to attack you, the more adept he will become, and the more likely he will be to succeed. If you must leave where you are now, you want to leave on your terms, not his.

Start documenting what this person is doing to you. But be very careful, and DO NOT keep your log on company time, or on the company premisses. This log is YOUR record of what happened, day by day, in case you need this information later. One place you you could keep your logbook is out of sight, in the trunk of your car. If your memory is not perfect, you may need to jot down important details in a pocket notebook, and then copy them into your log book later, after you leave work. But be very careful and avoid the temptation of making copies of anything and taking them off site. Most companies consider that to be industrial espionage, and you do not need another headache on top of the one you already have.

While this person is not your supervisor, his actions sound like those of a work place bully. The following links might be of interest to you. The more you know about work place bullying, the better prepared you will be for whatever he tries next. Here are a few links to web sites that address work place bullying.

http://www.safety-council.org/info/OSH/bullies.html

http://www.workplacebullying.co.uk/

http://www.bullybusters.org/

Some excellent comments...

Actions speak louder than words.

There will always be people like this in the corporate world. You can not change them nor should you waste the energy trying.

The way to defend yourself against such attacks is through solid execution. Not execution as in "jamming a letter opener into Mr. B's temple" but rather execution as in project follow-through and completion. Having ideas is one thing, but following through on those ideas to completion is the key to job success. Strive to consistantly perform your job to the best of your abilities, COMPLETE as many tasks/projects/sales as you can and find (and execute) ways to bring additional value to your position and your company.

Attention gained through execution is always more powerful that any infamy your opponent can stack against you with mere words.

Do not retaliate, document your communications as noted above (otherwise known as CYA or Cover Your A--) and continue to execute solidly.

While your oponent is focused on you, you will be focusing on your success.

Good luck ;)

Much of the previous advice is excellent!In addition to documenting communications that occur,get EVERYTHING in writing.

Note every meeting on your calendar. Thus, if he has significantly fewer meetings with you -- it will be evident. Write down every meeting and send an email to the extent of "this is my understanding of the issues and solutions we discussed". If your email program has a receipt notifier -- use it. If this person is in a position to make task requests of you -- ask that they provide their instrunctions IN WRITING via email.

I have had past experience with a superior like this -- unfortunately it was very difficult to get anything from him in writing -- which made his "weasling" that much more clear to me. However, I made sure that I sent emails as mentioned above so that I at least documented what happened from my standpoint. I can verify that doing my job and staying quiet did not help.
Things got worse, as misunderstandings and politics flourished.

~Best of luck!

You must be just a step up from the person you 'claim' is 'backstabbing' you. So far I don't hear any good advice for you except from Kelly G. When I finish a meeting with my team (I'm Director) I always send around an email which reiterates issues discussed with potential resolutions and action items. I send it around with a 'signoff' so everyone has to acknowledge the email and 'agreement'. BTW, if someone in my organization tries to tell me that someone else is 'gossiping' about me (or anyone on my teams) I stop them immediately. The way to STOP gossip is NOT to listen to it.

Being BUSY at work is another way to stop gossip. If people are dropping around to tell you about gossip, they need more work to do; I'd load 'em up with work, that would stop the gossip or rumors of gossip!

I've been in the computer industry for 44 years now and have never had a problem with 'backstabbing' that good work, integrity, and followthrough didn't naturally end the problem. If a 'superior' is backstabbing, that's well pretty ridiculous because why would a superior need to do that?!?

Also, my meetings are mostly 'standup'... i.e. all participants standup (you'd be amazed at how short those meetings become, heh heh heh). I never schedule a meeting over 1/2 hr unless it is a training session, that helps too.

Here is another fun way to deal with backstabbers. You start with co-worker A telling you that co-worker B said "backstabbing comment X." You ask co-worker A if they would be comfortable meeting with you and co-worker B to discuss your business concerns (keep it on business) of the "backstabbing comment X." (Usually they will say, "yes" - so many of us have a dark sense of humor.)

Ask co-worker B for a meeting, have coworker A at the meeting, and start of the meeting by saying, "Thank you for meeting with me. I was concerned because Coworker A said you said X and I wanted to follow up and hear more on this because (insert whatever b.s. business reason you want here - just make it a business concern)". Then watch the backstabber lose color in their face, stammer, and try to explain. From there, play it whatever way you want and end up the meeting by saying something like, "Well, I'm glad we got that cleared up." Hilarious. Most backstabbers will nearly run out of the room when the meeting is finished. You will feel great afterwards too because you will have stood up for yourself.

That article offered some great advice...

Thank you for all of the advice, I wish that someone had told me years ago to ensure that if I had a solid network at work so that it would reduce the backstabber's ability to manipulate others. I have found out the very hard way that ignoring the situation or keeping my nose to the grindstone would show that I was the more valuable employee. The reality is that people are more inclinded to believe the negative versus the positive if they do not know you first. Thank you for all of the fantastic advice.

This chapter finaly got to an end with a termination and a seperation code of 1 meaning job was abolished and one friday I was called and asked to leave. It was a dual face termination. However I received the package.

hi there,

what is "dual face termination" ?

Thank you,

BR,
~A

All the advice sound good to me. One thing that is left out is PRAYER. There is a God in heaven who controls history, even corporate politics that tends to destroy the good.